Introduction
Video Games
Video Game Tutorials
Cheat Sheet
The Tutorial
What Is a Tutorial?
Why Tutorials Are Necessary
How Tutorials Teach
Three Tutorials in the Wild
Examples of Existing Tutorials in Current Games
You’ve Said Right and Wrong: Why?
Cheat Sheet
Learning Things
How People Learn Stuff
Why People Choose to Learn Stuff
How to Teach People Stuff
Cheat Sheet
Rage-Quit
Frustration and Boredom
Cognitive Apprenticeship
"Flow" and Other Reasons People Keep Playing
Balance
Feedback
Clear Outcomes
Summary
Cheat Sheet
Facts about Players
Age and the Education Gap
(Experience + Skill)/Challenge = Fun
It Is Never Okay to Throw the Controller
The Big Five Motivational Factors and Games
Summary
Cheat Sheet
Eyes and Ears
Visual Stuff in Games
Audible Stuff in Games
Why Does This Matter?
Mayer’s Principles: Designing Learning for Our Eyes and Ears
Summary
Cheat Sheet
Return of the Tutorial: Escape from Skull Island
Escape from Skull Island
Overview of Mechanics and Gameplay
Controls and Inputs Overview
Interface Structure and Overview
Tutorials and Learning in Escape from Skull Island
Summary
Bullet Point Learning Design
There Are Really Three Things
No Exclusionary Mechanics
No "Club" Behaviors
Offer Learning Support
Follow the Cognitive Principles
Let Skilled Players Be Skillful as Fast as Possible
Reward Failures
No Small Punishments
No Small Rewards
Immediate Feedback on All Inputs
Massive Explosions of Juiciness
Harsh and Brutal Corrections of Unwanted Behaviors
Rewards Must Scale in Their Splendor and Awesomeness
Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment
Test and Retest Player Skill Level
Use Just-in-Time Tactics to Reward Continued Play
Procedural and Dynamic Rewards and Punishments
You Cannot Have Too Many Data Collection Hooks
Summary
Appendix: Further Reading
Index
Biography
Matthew M. White is an assistant professor in game development at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, where he teaches game design, computer science, and software engineering. He previously worked on interfaces, human-computer interaction, and game programming at the University of Prince Edward Island and Snow Day Games, a small indie studio. He earned his M.Ed. in instructional design and technology focusing on the design of games from the University of New Brunswick and his Ph.D. in education from Memorial University of Newfoundland, co-supervised through York University's Education and Game Studies faculty.
